What, where and how to eat and buy local in the Kansas City area. A complete guide to eating and buying local to help support our community and sustainable agriculture. Includes recipes, seasonal tips and interviews with local producers.

Please post a comment if you have any additional special announcement for food events in KC. Remember that this month is the last month of local farmers markets before we start the winter market season. Get your fall pumpkins, sweet potatoes, pecans and local veggies!

June 01, 2009

From the deck on the back of my house, I can count the number of house lights I see. There are thirty-one of them, stretching for miles. I can count the cell phone towers, their lights blinking red. There are three of them. Two trains have rumbled by on the tracks of the Kansas City Southern, heading north, presumably empty grain or coal cars headed back to origin for a reload. There is one moon overhead, its half circle glowing with a faint ring through thin clouds. On my deck there are six chairs, one table, three bug candles, two speakers, and one glass of red wine.

From the deck of my house I cannot count the fireflies dancing over the green grass of my pastures. I can't count the number coyotes that howl with each passing train whistle, a contest of beast against machine to see who can be the noisest. There appear to be an infinite number of stars overhead, barely visible and seemingly flickering through thin clouds. I cannot tell you how many beautiful sunsets and sunrises I have witnessed while working on my farm. Nor can I count the number of majestic storms I've watched roll in from the west, the sky darkening prematurely on a spring day.

As I sit and observe the night, I am reminded that the reason I am here, the reason I chose to be here, are those things I cannot count. The unmeasurable. The things you cannot put a price on. In today's world, we are all about quantifying everything. A big salary, a huge bonus, the "largest bankruptcy in history." It seems we MUST put a value to all we do, all we see, just so we can comprehend it and no longer wonder of its enormity. For some reason, we have come to a ppoint in our history that this quantification gives us satisfaction, gives us closure. I like the uncertainty of some numbers in the world. How many frogs are there in the chorus I hear? How long until the storms I feel somewhere beyond the changing winds actually arrive? Don't answer, for me, these questions are rhetorical.

The spring has been exceptionally wet (check on line to quantify HOW wet, I don't care about the specifics). The extra moisture has been great for the grass on the farm, allowing ample grazing for my animals, but it has delayed our garden. The past couple of weekends dried off enough for us to plant our vegetables for the season. After working on the farm this past weekend, my skin is burned, my muscles are sore, and my eyes feel as if they've been in the wind too long. This feels really good. Almost as good as contemplating the uncertainty of all the things I cannot count from my deck on an early summer night.

November 07, 2008

The Halloween candy has not even hit the bargain bin yet and already the shelves are going red and green. Wait a minute. Where's Thanksgiving?

You know, the holiday created around sharing our blessings with family and friends, cherishing what you have, not shopping for more? Oh yeah. That doesn't sell on the store shelves. And that is exactly why Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. That, and it's a holiday with FOOD.

I will be working on a new menu for this year, but below are my favorites that I made for the last couple Thanksgiving meals. I hope you and your family are blessed this holiday season.

June 17, 2008

I did a post about the locally-created Harvest Lark bars some time back. Apparently, the last round of tornadoes in our area hit their town. Many homes were destroyed, one young mother died running for shelter, and others are left without their belongings and life in chaos. From the brief email, it sounds like Cheryl Zumbrum is busy with her family helping others in the community.

There is a need for assistance if anyone would like to lend a helping hand (or supplies or gift cards for those who lost everything). You should contact Harvest Lark at harvestlark@yahoo.com.

March 28, 2008

This
issue of lobbyists trying to get the rBGH-free label banned has also come up on the MO side, so the Missouri Rural Crisis
Center has organized a Lobby Day at the State Capitol. Here are the
details: Family Farm Lobby Day March 31st, 2008 1:30-4PM Missouri State
Capitol-First Floor Rotunda Join Family Farmers, Rural Citizens &
Consumers in Support of Missouri’s Family Farms, Healthy Food and Rural
Values! Details available at http://www.slowfoodstl.org/2008/03/17/family-farm-lobby-day/ ****Please let us know if you can attend by emailing us at timgibbons@morural.org, or call (573) 449-1336.

Looking for a CSA for this year, or a great source for local meats? The farmers expo will be this weekend for West side, and on April 5th for East Kansas City. Don't miss this great opportunity to find a local food source!

KCFC EXPO DOUBLE-HEADER IN 2008

OUR 10th ANNUAL EXHIBITION OF FARMERS - KC Food Circle's EAT LOCAL! Expo(s) will again be held at two separate venues this year.

The West-Side EAT LOCAL! Expo will be on Saturday, March 29th (2008) from 9am - 2pm at the Shawnee Civic Centre (Phlumm and Johnson Drive)
Estimates indicate that attendance at this single venue in 2007 was
almost double that of 2006 at Shawnee, and up 12% over our TOTAL
attendance at both expos last year - a new record (over 1100 visitors)
- we expect even more participation in 2008.

TheEast-Side EAT LOCAL! Expo will be held on Saturday, April 5th (2008) from 9:30 am - 2:30 pm at the The Roger T. Sermon Community Center
201 N Dodgion St, Independence, MO 64050on KC's NorthEast Side - near the intersection of Truman Rd and Noland Rd.

March 02, 2008

I'm not normally a complainer. I've been pretty lucky in life, and, even if I hadn't, I figure "what's the point." I don't like annexation of rural property by burgeoning metro areas, I'm not a fan of seemingly monopolistic "ag service" companies forcing products upon small producers, and I hate to see small towns and Rural America (where I grew up) suffering. I added another frustration to my list today....but first, let me back up and set the stage for you....

Have you ever noticed that when you try cooking those nice looking, easy to cook, CHEAP, boneless skinless chicken breasts, your pan fills up with weird looking liquid? And then you end up with about 1/2 the size of meat you started with? Oh, and lest I forget, they taste like a wad of wet paper? Hence began my desire to raise chicken that tastes like chicken. Hell, pretty soon we won't even understand the old adage "tastes like chicken" because we won't even remember that chicken used to have A TASTE!

So, when we decided to buy a farm and start raising food, one of our goals that excited us the most was growing pastured broiler chickens, chickens that taste like chicken. They would be started inside, in a very controlled environment, then put outside in a bottomless pen which is moved each day, allowing the birds to supplement their diet with green grass and bugs. Most of today's chickens still need supplemental feed, so we have to purchase feed for the chicks. Here is where my issue lies.

Yesterday I had planned on buying my first chicks of the season, so my two year old and I headed to the farm store that was holding "chick days," intending to come home with our first 50 chicks of the season (we will raise an additional 200 or so throughout the spring and summer). Luckily, having had problems in the past, I decided to buy our feed prior to buying the chicks. However, after going to two feed stores and calling four others, all we could find was chicken feed medicated with antibiotics. I have raised chickens for years without medicated feed, and growing up we had chickens every year, none of which were fed any medication. In today's world however, we've apparently taken the view that without the miracle of antibiotics, we cannot even grow what nature has grown forever without us. I'm all for free markets, and if someone can find a way to build a business and make some money, go for it. But please, keep it out of my food!

Personally, I can find ways around the medicated feed. There are (thankfully) a few small custom feed mills left that will grind feed to meet my specs, and actually I am happy to support their local business instead of the agri-giants pouring medication on feed bound for food. What really struck a nerve for me was all the other folks buying a handful of chicks to raise on their own, who didn't really stop to think about the antibiotic laden feed they were purchasing for their chicks. I'm sure they are all there with good intentions, growing their own meat, "free" from all of the negatives associated with confined poultry. But there they were, nonetheless, wheeling out bags of medicated feed, medication that will remain in their birds after slaughter and be served up next to the mashed potatoes and fresh green beans. Raising these birds is a lot of work, as is growing the potatoes and green beans that go on the plate with them...too bad it is getting harder not to get a side of antibiotics along with it.

February 14, 2008

A new bill, SB 595, has been introduced in the Kansas Senate. While it's primary purpose is to prevent the labeling of dairy products as being "rBGH free" (Monsanto's genetically engineered hormone injected into dairy cows) it actually covers any food. The following analysis of the issue is provided by Rick North of the Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility and Craig Volland of the KC Food Circle & Kansas Sierra Club CAFO Committee.

Rick North of the Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility:SB 595 bans two types of labels. The first is a label based on composition of the food product that can't be confirmed through lab analysis. There is no current commercial lab test that can detect rBGH. Therefore, this would knock out labels such as rBGH-free, rBST-free, or Does not contain artificial hormones.

The current industry standard requires that farmers sign an affidavit swearing that they don't use rBGH. The second provision in the bill knocks that out. In both instances, the bill makes an illogical leap that just because something isn't demonstrated by a lab test or is sworn to by affidavit or other sworn statement, then its misleading. This would knock out any production-related labels, such as "Our farmers pledge not to use rBGH (rBST, artificial hormones)."

Monsanto is getting clobbered in the marketplace. Dairy after dairy is going rBGH-free, all over the country. We estimate that at least one third, and probably 40-50% of all fluid milk sold in the U.S. is rBGH-free, and its going higher all the time. This is costing Monsanto millions of dollars and they are pulling out all the stops to reverse the trend. Their strategy is simple prevent consumers from knowing whether dairy products are rBGH-free or not by censoring label information.

Whats even more incredible about this bill is that it would appear to cover ANY food, not just dairy products. This is beyond what weve seen in bills/rules weve been fighting in Pennsylvania, Ohio and Indiana. I'm not even sure it's intended to go that far. There are all kinds of food labels that can't be verified by lab tests state of origin, country of origin, bottled water claims (such as spring-fed or from a particular location) and (possibly) organic, to name a few.

Craig Volland: I believe this bill would also ban the label "free range" for meats which is critically important to small farmers in Kansas who sell direct to eaters or to restaurants. That's because it is verified to our customers by testimonial or affidavit, not certification. Also, depending on how they define "agricultural product" ti could snag baked goods and jams and jellies, for example, that use some or all organically grown inputs but the processer may not, her- or himself, be certified organic.

Regardless of the science, this is, fundamentally, a consumer right- to- know issue. Also Monsanto has a long history of intimidating farmers with lawsuits (ie. Percy Schmeiser case) and otherwise attempting to get their way through undue governmental influence. Because of their power and influence, product labeling is one of the few ways a consumer can exercise freedom of choice in this matter. Missouri growers may be seeing this shortly in the Mo. legislature.

Action against the Kansas bill must be swift because the Senate must act on it in the next week or so to abide by certain rules to get it through the Kansas House before the session ends.

Please call you state reps immediately and object to this bill. It's your right to know what is in (or not) your food. Monsanto has already failed to get this objective past the FDA at the national level, this new effort is a state-by-state attempt to circumvent that ruling and prevent consumers from being able to know if their dairy products contain growth hormones.

I vehemently oppose the passage of SB 595, which has been introduced in
the Kansas Senate. It's primary purpose is to prevent the labeling of
dairy products as
being "rBGH free" and to keep consumers from being able to make choices
regarding the food we consume. The FDA denied this effort by Monsanto
to ban rBGH-free labeling at the national level, and I oppose
Monsanto's attempt to get around the ruling by going state-by-state.

Consumers have a right to know what is in their food, how it has been
produced and where it has been produced. Yet through efforts like this,
Monsanto and others deny consumers a fundamental right to choose and to
understand what is in the food we eat.

Please stop this bill and the abuse of consumer rights that it represents.

January 09, 2008

So, the issue at hand is the annexation of 9,600 acres of Southern Johnson County land by the city of Overland Park. This amount of annexed land would amount to the largest expansion in the city's history. This amount of land, if farmed in its entirety, would grow more than one million bushels of corn each year. This amount of land, if managed properly, could grow enough vegetables, fruit and meat to feed more than 3,000 families every year. Kept in its current state, this land is a natural buffer for pollution from population, rainwater runoff, and also serves as a tremendous carbon sink, thus serving as a check valve on global warming. This land is beautiful land to drive through, to bike along, and to visit. This land, in essence, is your land.

However, due to current projections of growth, and obvious constraints that can only force any NEW DEVELOPMENT south, the city of Overland Park has advised that they, not Johnson County, are better suited to control the inevitable growth of the region. Their idea is to develop the land correctly, allowing only high density housing in some regions, and green space in others. Infrastructure needs would be controlled, and as such, tax dollars more wisely spent. Makes sense to me. Maybe this land should be their land.

Growing up, I remember wanting a new baseball glove because I had left my old one out in the rain overnight. Well, truth be told, it wasn't that old before I had left it in the rain, but now I really wanted a new one. My father taught me the hard lesson that you don't get something new just because you didn't take care of the old one. Man, I could just imagine the feel of the new glove, nicely oiled, with dimples in the palm, just like the big leaguers used! But, my dad was right, I hadn't taken care of my old one, so, no new glove.

I guess my point about the glove, in relation to land annexation is why doesn't the city of Overland Park take better care of its old land? I drive down 119th street now, once THE area of O.P.. I see abandoned stores and 'upper end' stores that have been replaced by less 'upper end' stores. Where did they go? 135th street. I'm sure the story is a repeat of what happened in the 95th and Metcalf area when 119th was developed, and to 87th and 75th before that. To me, the city is just buying into our disposable society. Tired and bored with your current development? Annex some farmland!

I know there are those that will say, "don't want annexation? move further away from the city! Johnson County has been one of the fastest growing metroplexes in the country for decades! Get over it!" The problem with that logic is one of the reasons that Overland Park and Johnson County have been so appealing for so long is its wonderful mix of urban amenities and beautiful rural surroundings. If the annexation occurs, and continues, this mix goes away, and the city loses.

The other reason that O.P. has been so appealing for so long for so many different citizens and businesses is the mix of people living and working there. They bring a certain vibrancy to the area that doesn't exist elsewhere. When you live in an urban subdivision and work with not only neighbors of that subdivision, but also people who live on 40 acres and commute 20 minutes to the office, you get a very unique office environment. You build a community that is much stronger than a homogeneous population of cookie cutter houses. Take that diversity away, and all of the sudden Corporate Woods becomes a lot duller place to work.

As a farmer and landowner south of the proposed annexation area, I suppose I should be thinking about my financial future. After all, in the short term, annexation equals more customers closer to my farm. In the long term, the value of my land should increase as the city comes closer. The reality, however, is that my farm is what I want to do. I don't want to position myself in the path of urban sprawl, as a speculative land investment group would. I want to be able to enjoy MY LAND as I want to, and I want my children to do the same. I want to share the experience with those from Overland Park that want to enjoy it with me. I want to continue to be able to look out my living room window at night and see only a smattering of lights, and know that each of those lights marks the home of a unique individual. No homogeneity here.

If annexation is allowed to continue, I know it will reach my land some day. I wonder how many empty Lazy Boy Furniture Gallery Showrooms will dot the landscape between my street (343rd street) and 119th street by then! In a world where your food travels an average of 1,500 miles to reach your table, we fight wars over oil, and our inner cities are in disrepair, how much longer can we truly afford to keep pushing farms further away in order to "manage growth?" I think it is time that city planners start thinking about how to take care of the old land before they go out and annex new land.

January 07, 2008

The Lawrence City Commission is considering a private development proposal for the annexation of 144 acres of prime farm land just 1/2 mile north of my farm, Pinwheel Farm, just north of North Lawrence. This proposed development (warehouses) would leave my farm nearly completely surrounded by the City, putting Pinwheel Farm at extreme risk of future annexation and therefore substantial curtailment of the land's rights to be operated as a farm business. The annexation of the Airport Business Park is still pending with the City Commission, after several postponements. It is not too late for you and your friends to make a significant contribution to preserving this land, at the cost of only a postage stamp (or mouse click) and a little time. If we fail to stop this project in its tracks at this point, it will be much harder to prevent additional prime farm ground from being swallowed up by expanding industrial development in this neighborhood.

This is a situation where people with far-reaching visions of future food security actually stand a good chance of prevailing against short-sighted, profit-minded developers. We've pulled together a group with diverse professional backgrounds, expertise, and experience to back up their values. Citizens for Responsible Planning (CRP) has done a great job of rallying local support for preserving this farm ground. I'm attaching their position paper, which I'm endorsing. There are many and diverse good reasons for the City Commission to vote against the proposed annexation, and the neighboring landowners organized their protest early enough that a "supermajority" vote (4-1 instead of 3-2) is required to approve the annexation.

Those of us concerned about food security here in Lawrence realize that our food security is deeply entwined with that of the entire KC region. If our very best soil is paved over, the entire region loses the fruits of that soil...forever. Therefore, we hope that everyone, anywhere, concerned with preservation of farmland and food security, will join our effort to preserve YOUR salad bowl, and take the time to voice your concerns to our City Commissioners. The Commissioners need to know that they are making a regional, not a local, decision in this matter. When we neighbors oppose something like this, it is all too easy to be brushed off as NIMBYs. You can appeal to our City Commission from a very different perspective. If the City Commission realizes that good local food production can bring in $$$ from Kansas City, they will have to re-evaluate their dismissal of farming as a low-value land use.

Based on my actual crop and sales records this fall, if this land proposed for annexation were all managed as I did my fall market garden in the same soil just 1/2 mile away, nearly $7 MILLION dollars (retail) worth of organic/sustainably grown salad greens could be grown in a single year, employing nearly 250 individuals full-time for six months. That's something people through the region should be able to sink their teeth into. For the rest of their lives, not just for a few years until all our best land is paved over for warehouses.

Thanks in advance for your active support in this critical matter of regional food security.

1. WRITE A LETTER TO THE LAWRENCE CITY COMMISSION FOR THE PUBLIC RECORD! The sooner the better...but be sure it reaches City Hall by 4:00 p.m., Wed. January 16, 2008. Address letters to Mayor Sue Hack, "Re: Airport Business Park", "for distribution to City and County Commissioners and City Staff", and either e-mail to the City Manager Executive Secretary, Bobby Walthall: bjwalthall@ci.lawrence.ks.us OR send by U.S. Mail to:

2. ATTEND THE LAWRENCE CITY COMMISSION MEETING ON TUESDAY, JANUARY 22, 2008, 6:30, AT CITY HALL. (After so many postponements, check to be sure it hasn't been postponed again before driving over here!) While we're hopeful that we have the vote of more than one city commissioner, WE CANNOT ASSUME THE VOTE WILL GO OUR WAY! It is extremely important for CRP and other interested citizens to have a HUGE TURNOUT at City Hall on Tuesday, January 22! Our presence at the meeting and our voice in the general public will make a difference!

3. SHARE THIS INFORMATION WITH ANYONE YOU CAN THINK OF WHO IS CONCERNED ABOUT FOOD SECURITY AND PRESERVATION OF FARMLAND, and willing to back up their concern with these simple actions.

4. WRITE A LETTER TO THE EDITOR OF THE LAWRENCE JOURNAL-WORLD--THE SOONER, THE BETTER. Let the citizens of Lawrence know that the decisions we make here affect our neighbors to the east.